News
ATT iPhone extension? O2 contract under threat?
Tim Green Aug 5 2008, 11:38am
AT&T is believed to have extended its exclusive iPhone contract by a year, according to USA Today.
The operator will now sell the device until 2010 instead of 2009. However, it’s also true that speculation last year, when the iPhone was first launched, suggested the Apple/AT&T deal was for five years. So has it been extended or cut?
Apparently AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson told the newspaper that the iPhone may be costing the firm a lot in subsidies ($300 a device), but is central to its brand re-positioning. AT&T has also said it will eventually begin selling unsubsidised iPhones without the current two-year lock-in.
Meanwhile The Guardian reports that O2’s UK exclusive with Apple could be under threat. Its deal is believed to run until 2012, but a two year renegotiation window could let other operators in by Christmas 2009. The contract is understood to have a get-out clause, which allows Apple to terminate it if it does not think the phone is being marketed successfully.
